Fish Fingers and Custard
by Hallifree
Summary: Amy and Rory are gone and the Doctor tries to get over his depression.


The Doctor walked casually away from the supermarket carrying two bags: one with fish fingers and the other with custard. Today was the day he met little Amelia Pond and the day he made a fantastic friend. He missed her terribly, but there was nothing he could do. She was a fixed point in time. He thought about watching their adventures again from a distance, but he shoved the thought away immediately. Too much trouble. He turned into the alley way.

"Hello, Sexy," He sighed.

He slid the other bag onto his left arm, and snapped his fingers with his right.

"I went shopping...brought home our favorites."

He placed the bags underneath the center console and sat down on the stairs. He covered his face with his hands then swept his hands through his long hair.

"It's been a _very_ long day." He sighed.

He pulled the bags towards him and took out a package of fish fingers and a package of custard. He flipped the box around until he found the directions.

"Here we go. Hm...I need a bowl...and... a microwave."

He shot up from the stairs and sauntered over to the Tardis' left wing. He opened the door.

"No. No. No. I need the kitchen."

He closed the door and opened it again.

"Honestly! The pool?! I need the _kitchen_!"

He slammed the door shut then reopened it .

"The toilet?! YOU'VE GOT TO BE JOKING ME?!"

He slammed the door so hard that the Tardis shook.

"Do you think this is some joke?! ALL I WANT IS THE _BLOODY_ KITCHEN! Is that too much to ask for? Or is making me miserable humorous to you in some _disgusting_ way?"

He paced wildly in front of the of the door. He raised his hands and spoke to the ceiling.

"Because that must be your purpose in life! Isn't it! Making me miserable! Bringing these amazing, wonderful people into my life then taking them all away in your timey-wimey clutches! I can't even maintain a friendship that doesn't involve me risking their life! You told me you take me where I need to go. Well, maybe I don't need _you_ to take me anywhere!"

The lights flickered and the Tardis roared.

"That's it! From now on, you have NO power over MY decisions. We go where I WANT to go! And right now, I want to go to my kitchen."

He spun around and flung the door open, revealing an extremely small, pale closet. There was a small table in the center and a tiny blue chair to compliment it. However, what surprised him most of all, was not the kitchen itself, but the Easy Bake Oven.

"You are SO immature! Calling ME a CHILD! I'm 910 years old!"

The Tardis' lights flashed brightly and it roared threateningly.

"FINE"

He stomped over to the stairs, retrieved his shopping bags, and stomped back to the kitchen closet. He ripped open the custard and tried to pour it into the small pan, but the table was 2 feet off the floor. He reluctantly relented and sat on the wooden, blue chair.

"This is ridiculous..." He muttered.

He grabbed the plastic spatula and slid the pan into the oven. He put his face up to the oven and stared at the custard intensely. Nothing happened.

"Does this stupid thing even work?"

He whipped out his sonic screwdriver, fixed it's frequency, and aimed at the oven. He pressed the button and the oven's light bulb shined harshly.

"There we go. Hurry up, you little oven..." He ordered quietly.

A few bubbles slowly emerged to the top.

"Haha!"

He popped the little pan out and poured it into a plastic cup. He continued to do the same with the fish fingers which took him only a few minutes. In about no time at all, he had a plate full of fish fingers and a cup of custard. The redolent smell permeated the whole room. He betrayed a small smile underneath his hard face then rose from his seat and faced the center console again. He hadn't realized it before, but the lights had dimmed significantly. He looked down and his hard face melted into remorse.

"I'm..." He stopped himself.

"We've known each other for quite a while haven't we? I don't know if you've happened to notice, but it's starting to get awfully domestic between us isn't it?" He chuckled.

The Tardis grew very quiet. So quiet, in fact, that the Doctor could feel his hearts beating. His face grew very remorseful. He leaned against the Tardis wall and slumped down to the floor. He dipped a fish finger into the custard and chewed it very slowly. The sound of it was quite boisterous compared to the quiet Tardis. He swallowed it and cleared his throat. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"I miss them," He choked.

He sat there for a very long time. Thinking. Remembering. Analyzing. Evaluating.

"I could've stopped him. I could've told Rory to..." He stopped.

"I can't do this anymore."

He ran his hand through his hair.

"I've hurt to many people."

The Tardis' lights began to dim.

"Don't you understand? Whenever I try to help...I just make things worse. Amplify the problems... I'm becoming a nuisance. 'Oh, look! There's the Doctor. Here comes trouble!'"

He hugged his knees and folded his arms on top of them.

"Why can't I just be the mad man with a blue box?" He mumbled into his shirt.

He looked up at the console.

"Why can't it just be you and me? Traveling the universe together?"

He stared at the fish fingers and custard.

"I've made my decision."

He shot up from the floor and sauntered to the main console, his hands in his pockets.

"I'm retiring. These humans can manage fine without me."

He fiddled with the knobs and dials and Tardis blinked back to life.

"All I need is you, Old Girl."

The Tardis eagerly lurched forward through the time vortex.

"I thought you'd like that!" The Doctor laughed.


End file.
